중력파 천문학

Gravitational-Wave Astronomy

Exploring a universe with gravitational waves (GWs) was only theoretical expectation for long time. In September 2015, the Laser Interferometer GW Observatory (LIGO) first detected GWs emitted from the collision of two stellar-mass black holes in cosmological distance (1.3 billion light years) on Earth. This confirms the existence of black-hole binary mergers, and further, opens a new field of GW astronomy. We begin our discussion with a list of important GW sources that can be detectable on Earth by large-scale laser interferometers such as LIGO. Focusing on compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes, we then discuss possible research in the context of GW astronomy. By coordinating with existing observatories, searching for electromagnetic waves or particles from astronomical objects, around the world, multi-messenger astronomy for the universe's most cataclysmic phenomena (e.g. gamma-ray bursts) will be available in the near future.